2023 - Race 9 Canada

[airshifter]

The American is toast. I'll be surprised if he makes it to the end of the year.

No doubt he's not impressing anyone, but wasn't the DNF today simply a car issue?




As for the race, not quite a complete bore fest. Alonso had a slow start so Lewis got him off the line, and it took a while for Fred to get it back. After the stops it looked like Lewis might have something to give it a try to get up on the AMR, but it wasn't to be. George didn't really seem to be in the game long and his issues started with the contact, so his day was essentially done early.

I think overall the Ferrari cars showed that they might have had a chance at a podium if not for their poor qually. They just didn't have the pace to make up any real gaps with their pit strategy. But at least they played the strategy right and got back up to the forward end of the pack. Likewise Perez made up some ground, but not enough.

Further back the pack stayed pretty busy. Passes, repasses, a bit of dicing here and there, and the inevitable DRS trains keeping many of them in contact. Albon IMHO did an amazing job keeping that Williams where he did. He has really matured well since his shot at RB knocked him down so hard. Bottas got punked by Lance right at the line, and Lance at least helped the team gain some ground on Merc, important especially since George was out of the race. Ocon got lucky... that wing was getting worse and worse but it held together and got some decent points. If not for the penalty Norris ran an otherwise good race too.

[Nitrodaze]

The American is toast. I'll be surprised if he makes it to the end of the year.

Nah he is not. He was told to stop the car due to a critical issue with the powertrain. Can't blame the man for fault with his car, can we? But Albon is performing as well as Russell was in the Williams. I think he is deserving of a shot further up the grid.

[Used to be Starter]

Nah he is not. He was told to stop the car due to a critical issue with the powertrain. Can't blame the man for fault with his car, can we? But Albon is performing as well as Russell was in the Williams. I think he is deserving of a shot further up the grid.

For this past race I wasn't talking about the finish, but rather his qualifying. He should be behind Albon for sure, but not THAT far behind. The Williams is not the turkey is has been in past years and, outside of the first race where everyone was getting the feel of the cars, Albon has done well. Though no one is anointing him as the next world champion. Sargent has under performed for sure and that was the point of my comment.

[Nitrodaze]

For this past race I wasn't talking about the finish, but rather his qualifying. He should be behind Albon for sure, but not THAT far behind. The Williams is not the turkey is has been in past years and, outside of the first race where everyone was getting the feel of the cars, Albon has done well. Though no one is anointing him as the next world champion. Sargent has under performed for sure and that was the point of my comment.

To be fair it was a tricky qualifying in Canada with the rain and every driver struggling to bring the tires to up optimum temperature. Remember also that Albon took a gamble on slicks that worked out brilliantly for him. Hats off to Albon for as strong defensive drive during the race. We should not critiize the rookie, he would get better. This is his first season after all.

[Nitrodaze]

CONGRATULATIONS to Redbull for reaching 100 wins in F1. It is weird when you think Hamilton has got more wins under his belt than the mighty Redbull team.